Numerous kinds of autonomous vehicles are known in the art and are used in a wide variety of applications, from land vehicles, to aerial vehicles, to spacecraft, just to name a few. Autonomous vehicles are designed to perform some or all required functions autonomously, i.e., without contemporaneous user input, and several systems and methods have been developed to allow such vehicles to perform such functions autonomously. However, the systems and methods used to control the autonomous vehicles are highly dependent on the particular type of vehicle as well as on the particular mission that is to be performed. Generally speaking, there is no “one-size fits all” approach to autonomous control system design. That is, systems and methods developed for one type of autonomous vehicle and mission often cannot be used on other types of vehicles or for other missions. Typically, then, new autonomous control systems and methods often must be developed for each new type of autonomous vehicle and mission.